The Ride

It was the big hills that scared me.  That and the killer outfits some of them were wearing. Not to mention the bikes that weighed about as much as my shoe.  I didn’t want to be the domino that caused the whole group to end up being scraped off the pavement into ambulances.

It was late spring last year. I was at the Village Bike shop, getting my gear out of the car and getting myself into possible pain and humiliation on my first group ride billed as “Ride with the Girls.”  

I had been cycling 4-5 times a week and might go 15 miles. I had real bike shorts. I also rode a hybrid, which is not the sort of bike one might see on Le Tour de France.   That summed up my qualifications.

They split us into 2 groups and they thought I’d do OK on the long ride with the fast group.  Many of them resembled greyhounds and their bikes were so skinny I could not detect a shadow.

So I rode with the girls on the long, hilly fast ride. We went just over 19 miles. I kept up though and though my legs were screaming I stretched well  beyond my usual pace.

The fastest riders, some of them are sponsored and competitive, helped the newbies with stance, and shifting and other cycling secrets. I rode further and faster than I had that spring.

It was because I rode with people better than me. They inspired me and made me push myself beyond my usual limits. Which made me feel pretty good at the end of the ride.  By the end of the season I was telling the newer gal that she could make it, too.  I am much better than I was, though I still cast a distinct shadow.

Who are you riding with today? Is it a stretch? Will you have done better for being with them? Did you make the people around you better?

It’s clear to me that it’s about the ride and making it better for everyone.

Ride hard, ride faster today.